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Friday, June 13, 2008

Views on the news - 12/6/08

Europe: France and Germany sweat over Irish response to EU treaty

On 11/6/2008 the Irish will vote on the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty is designed to streamline the EU's structures and give the bloc a bigger say on the global stage by establishing a full-time president of the European Council, the institution where heads of government meet, and a new, more powerful foreign policy chief. However, there is a good chance that the Irish may reject the treaty. Ireland has less than 1 percent of the EU's population, an Irish no vote would stop the Lisbon treaty in its tracks because all 27 member states need to ratify it for it to come into force. Such an outcome will spell disaster for Franco-German efforts to give the EU a greater presence in international affairs. ”The eventuality of an Irish rejection would be a problem not only for the French presidency but for Europe ,” Sarkozy said. “It's for the Irish to decide on this, but what Madame Merkel and I have decided is that, whatever happens, the reaction will be a Franco-German one.” Apart from re-negotiating the EU treaty again— the same happened in 2001 and 2005— there is very little the France and Germany can do to.

The whole saga of political integration of European countries reveals that the people of Europe are deeply nationalistic and oppose any sort political union. Their leaders have to repeatedly re-invent treaties in the hope of persuading their people that political integration of Europe is in their best interest. In contrast, the Muslim ummah yearns for political unity under the umbrella of the Khilafah, but the rulers oppose her with all their wealth and might.

Middle East: US- EU fire another salvo at Iran

On 10/6/2008 the EU and the US threatened Iran with further sanctions unless it verifiably suspended nuclear enrichment. The measures were announced after US President George W Bush held talks in Slovenia . Mr Bush said, “They can either face isolation or they can have a better relationship with all of us if they verifiably suspend their nuclear enrichment programme.” Later a joint EU-US read:” We expect Iran to comply with its international obligations concerning its nuclear activities, including the full and verifiable suspension of enrichment and full cooperation with the IAEA. … Iran must provide to the IAEA full disclosure of any weapons-related work and allow the IAEA to verify that any such work has ceased.” The statement after Israeli transport Minister Mofaz said last week that an attack on Iran looked unavoidable. The snappish remarks coupled with talk of war with Iran appear premature to say the least. Ever since, the second term of Bush administration and the election of Ahmadinejad, both the US and Iran have employed belligerent language, to help Tehran consolidate American gains in Iraq and the wider Middle East. Till now both have succeeded in misleading the world, not to mentions the Israelis.

Central Asia : Karimov and Medvedev expressed satisfaction over ties

On 6/6/2008 President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, arrived in St. Petersburg to attend the informal CIS summit. He also met President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. During the meeting the two leaders noted that cooperation between Uzbekistan and Russia had developed in line with the Treaty on Allied Relations signed in 2005. Furthermore, the two leaders exchanged views on humanitarian issues. Just what they discussed on this subject can be gleaned from Russian assistance to Uzbek forces during the massacre of Andijan in May 2005. Since then, both countries have bolstered their efforts to fight the Islamic revival in Uzbekistan , Farghan Valley and other central Asian states. In the Human Rights Watch (HRW) country report on Uzbekistan published on 1/1/2008, HRW stated: ’Uzbek authorities continue their unrelenting, multi-year campaign of unlawful arrest, torture, and imprisonment of Muslims who practice their faith outside state controls or who belong to unregistered religious organizations. Peaceful religious believers are often branded as religious extremists. Dozens were arrested or convicted in 2007 on charges related to religious extremism.’

South Asia : Afghan and NATO forces attack Pakistani Border Post

On 10/6/2008 Afghan forces acting under NATO command mounted an attack on Pakistan’s Mohamand Agency. The attack was supported by missile strikes from an unmanned US drone. An unidentified government official said,”There was an attack by a spy plane close to the Afghan border.” Eye witness reports suggest that 13 people have been killed. This appears to be the first time that Afghan forces, NATO troops and US predatory drones have jointly attacked Pakistan. Yet despite this aggression the Pakistani government in collusion with the army, are playing down the incident. Has not the time arrived for the Pakistani army to stand like men and fight the crusaders? How many Pakistani citizens have to be butchered by the crusader forces before the 100,000 Pakistani soldiers stationed at the border issue a stern response? Surely the very least Pakistan can to do is to withdraw all forms of assistance to America’s war on Islam. This includes the cessation of military cooperation, abandonment of fuel and food supplies to NATO troops and the extension of full support to the Pushtun resistance.

Asia Pacific: Thaw in Chinese-Taiwanese relations but no change in policy

On 11/6/2008 negotiators from Taiwan arrived in China to discuss the resumption of formal talks after a gap of almost 10 years. Cross-straits dialogue was suspended in 1999 as Taiwan 's leaders began to lean towards formal independence, angering China 's government. But the recent election in Taiwan of Ma Ying-jeou earlier this year has led to a rapid improvement in bilateral ties. When he took office in May, Mr Ma said maintaining regional stability was his priority. He called on China and Taiwan to create “a new chapter of peace”. However, this new chapter of peace should not be interpreted as a change in policy on part of the Tiawanese. Tiawan under the tutelage of the US will only enjoy peaceful relations with China when it serves America‘s best interests. Ma’s ascent to the Presidency was orchestrated by the US , after the Bush administration grew tired of Chen Shui-bian (Ma’s predecessor) attempts to declare unilateral independence for Tiawan. America ’s policy on Tiawan is to resist Tiawanese independence and simultaneously support a one China stance. The ambiguity is intentional. It is employed by American officials to keep China ’s leadership preoccupied with Taiwan ’s unification with mainland China , thereby preventing China from exercising its influence in the wider Asian Pacific region.

South Asia: US strike kills 11 Pakistani soldiers

On 10/6/2008 Afghan forces acting under US command mounted an attack on Pakistan’s Mohamand Agency. The attack was supported by missile strikes from an unmanned US drone. An unidentified government official said, ”There was an attack by a spy plane close to the Afghan border.” Eye witness reports suggest that 11 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Yet despite this aggression the Pakistani government in collusion with the army, issued a watered down response. Has not the time arrived for the Pakistani army to stand like men and fight the crusaders? How many Pakistani soldiers and civilians have to be butchered by the crusader forces before the 100,000 Pakistani soldiers stationed at the border issue a stern response? Surely the very least Pakistan can to do is to withdraw all forms of assistance to America’s war on Islam. This includes the cessation of military cooperation, abandonment of fuel and food supplies to NATO and US troops, and the extension of full support to the Pushtun resistance

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